Screw holding devices are common tools, used in situations where there is limited room to work, where the screw is likely to be irretrievable if dropped, or in any other situation where the person driving the screw needs help in getting the screw "started", and in driving or removing the screw.
While several devices have been patented which are designed to aid the person driving the screw in the above mentioned situations, the patented devices suffer from several common deficiencies. The patents found which had similar objectives as the invention are U.S. Pat. No. 3,245,446 issued to Morifuji, U.S. Pat. No. 2,954,809 issued to Loewy, and U.S. Pat. No. 2,985,208 issued to Hibbard and Berry. These patents have a number of drawbacks which, if corrected, would greatly enhance the ease with which a screw could be started and the convenience of using the device. All of the patented devices attempt to hold a screw only by its head and put no pressure or constraint on the length of the shaft of the screw, allowing the screw to be dislodged by a sideward displacement. Also, the patented devices hold onto the screwhead by a member that contains one or a few holding elements. This makes it more difficult for the screw to be placed perfectly into the holder in the first place, because the small number of holding elements are bulky and inflexible. Moreover, the patented devices have little tolerance as to the size of the screw that they will hold. Some of the variations of the patented devices require the screw holder to be permanently attached to the screwdriver, which makes the screwdriver more bulky for carrying and storage. The patents which do not have the screw holder permanently attached to the screwdriver require that the screw holder be stored separately from the screw driver, increasing the chance that the holder will be lost or misplaced. The patented devices must also be removed from the screwdriver when not in use, also increasing chances that the device will be misplaced or lost. Finally, existing devices are not practical to use from start to finish in the process of driving a screw or regardless of the tension required to drive the screw. It is believed that the invention solves these problems and the invention is much more different from previously patented devices than the devices are from each other.